EBRD Backs Uzbekistan’s Mortgage Market Development

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting Uzbekistan’s housing finance sector with a synthetic local-currency facility of up to $40 million for the Mortgage Refinancing Company of Uzbekistan (UzMRC).

The funding will ensure a steady flow of medium-term local-currency resources for UzMRC - the country’s only mortgage refinancing institution - helping expand a standardised, commercially viable mortgage market and improve access to affordable housing loans nationwide, The Caspian Post reports via EBRD.

A major share of the financing will support Uzbekistan’s growing green renovation loan program, aimed at promoting energy-efficient home upgrades such as modern insulation, new windows and doors, air conditioning, and solar power systems.

Established in 2019 and supervised by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, UzMRC acts as a secondary mortgage aggregator, providing long-term funding to both private and state-owned banks. The new EBRD facility will allow UzMRC to continue supplying long-term local-currency loans while preparing to enter the residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) market.

The project is expected to lay the foundation for future capital market instruments by assisting to build high-quality mortgage portfolios with unified credit and reporting standards.

To date, the EBRD has invested nearly 5.6 billion euros across 193 projects in Uzbekistan, with most of the funding aimed at strengthening private enterprise and supporting the country’s economic growth.